Improvement in windmills



2 sheets shet 2. A. 81. 'W, B RAF.

wind-Mill. N 160,583 Patented March 9, I875.

" urrnn STATES TENT ICE.

AUGUST GRAF AND WILHELM GRAF, OF BURNETT J UNOTION, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN WINDMILLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1 60,588, dated March9, 1875; application filed January 19, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, AUGUST GRAF and WILHELMGRAF, both of Burnett Junction, Dodge county, State of Wisconsin, haveinvented a new and Improved Windmill, of

which the following is a specification:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of our improvedwindmill. Fig. 2 is a top view thereof, without the wind wheel. Fig. 3is a back view of the wind-wheel, being a section on the line a c,Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail side view, on an enlarged scale, of one ofthe radial arms of the wheel, showing how they are attached to thecentral disk and connected to the Wings. Fig. 5 is a back view of theclip, which carries the pivots of the wings.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

The object of this invention is to produce a windmill which can beconveniently adjusted to carry its wings, more or less, out of the reachof the wind in case of too strong a current, and more into the reachthereof in case of a weak current.

The invention consists in a novel means of attaching the severaladjustable wings to the radial arms of the wind-wheel; and also in novelmeans of connecting said wings with an adjustable lever, by means ofwhich they can be set at the requisite angle, all as hereinafter morefully described.

In the accompanying drawing, the letter A represents the upper ortion ofthe stationary frame-work, on which the whole mechanism is supported. Atthe very top this frame carries an annular plate, a, on which rests, andwherein is swiveled, another annular plate, I), that constitutes theimmediate support for the shaft B of the wind-wheel, said shaft beinghung in a horizontal position in ears or lugs 01 d that project upwardlyfrom the annular plate I). They shaft B carries an eccentric, c, whichconnects by the rod f with the sliding device 0, which is to be moved upand down by the operation of the windmill-that is to say, as theshaft Brevolves the mechanism 0 will be reciprocated, and a pump or otherdevice worked in the manner desired. The shaft B carries, at its outer'end, a disk, D, of pro portionately-small diameter, as indicated in Fig.1, which disk is, by suitable means, so firmly secured to the end of theshaft B that it will revolve with the same, and will not becomelengthwise displaced thereon. L is the vane of the windmill, the samebeing attached to a projection of the annular plate I) opposite to, andin line with, the shaft B, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Now, as to the horizontal adjustment of the whole windmill: that iseffected by virtue of the vane L, which, being struck by the wind, willallow the whole upper frame-work that is supported by the annular plateI) on a to rotate on a, and carry the disk D face to face with thecurrent or wind. To the disk D are secured a series of radial projectingarms, E E, of which six are shown in Fig. 3, though a larger or smallernumber may be used. These arms serve to hold between them at their outerends the series of wings F F that constitute the wind-wheel proper. Asto the attachment of the arms E to the disk D we prefer to use thedevice illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4that is to say, to use a hook-shapedbolt, 9, which extends through the lower end of each arm E, and throughan aperture of the disk D, embracing with the hook part a circular wire,h, that is placed in a groove at the back of the disk D, as clearlyshown in Figs. 3 and 4. A nut is applied to the outer end of thehook-bolt, in the manner shown in Fig. 4, to hold the parts in position.This is a very simple and firm connection, and has the advantage offastening the circular wire it in such a position that it will alsoserve as a pivot for the levers G G, that will be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

The radial arms E being thus secured to the disk D at equal distancesapart, and all of equal length, serve to hold between themthat is,between each pair thereof-one of the wings F of the windmill. Each ofthese wings F consists of one or more tangential crossbraces, t z, andof a number of obliquely-set blades, j j, that converge toward, but donot reach, the disk D, substantially in the manner shown in Fig. 3.These blades, being exposed with their oblique faces to the action ofthe wind, cause the wind to rotate the wheel that consists of the partsD E F, thereby also j by means of the wire I, a pivot-wire, m, of the 2icms ss rotating the shaft B to work the pump or other mechanism in themanner desired. Each wing F is pivoted to and between its twosupportingarms, E E, because, as already stated, we intend to make saidwings adjustable to the degree of current. To this end the outer part ofeach arm E has attached to it a metallic clip, 70. (Shown more fully inFigs. 4 and 5.) Each clip 75 is a metal plate facing the front of thearm E, and having ears projecting therefrom baekwardly, facing the sidesof the arm E and having outwardly-projecting lugs 10* that serve toreceive a U- shaped wire, I, that embraces the back portion of the armE, and passes through holes in the said outwardly-projecting lugs 70*,where it receives nuts or other fastening Clea, vices, all as clearlyindicated in Figs. 4 and t. The clip 70 being thus secured to the arm Eadjoining wing F extends with its bent-4. 6., hooked shaped-end throughthe front plate of said clip k. The wire m passes loosely through loopsor eyes a n that are fastened to one of the bars 2' of the wing F, sothat said wing may turn and swing on the wire m without affecting thelatter. The wire m extends from one arm E entirely across to the otherarm E, as shown, this being a preferable arrangement, although, instead,we may as well interrupt said wire m in the middle, and thus have apivot at each end of each wing. It is, therefore, clear that each end ofthe wire m is formed into a hook, to pass through the two clips, k, onthe two arms between which its wing is arranged, and each clip,necessarily, also, has two holes to receive the two wires m of the twocontiguous wings, as indicated in Fig. 5.

Having thus shown that and how the wings F F are pivoted in the wheel,so that they may vibrate on their tangential pivots m, we have onlyfurther to describe how to adjust these wings simultaneously, and in there quisite degree. The adjusting mechanism consists of the jointedlevers G that connect the disk D with each of the wings F, and of links0 that connect each jointed lever G with a rotary sliding disk, H, onthe shaft B and of a jointed weighted lever, I, extending backwardlyfrom the support of the slide H. A jointed lever, G, does,'as alreadystated, connect each wing F withthe disk Bthat is to say, the wing hasin its middle portion, on one of its cross-bars 2', anupwardly-projecting arm, p, to which is pivoted the upper joint q ofsaid lever Gr, whereas the lower longer joint r of the lever G is heldto the disk D by means of the wire h, which we have already fullydescribed. The edge of the disk D is preferably slotted where the lowerend of the lever G reaches toward the wire h, as shown in Fig. 3. Thelink 0 is pivoted near the lower part of the lower joint 1" to the leverG, and has a ball at its outer end that enters a corresponding recess inthe rotary slide Hthat is to say, the rotary slide H is composed of twodisks, which are bolted together, and between which sockets are formedof such shape as to allow the introduction and proper play of the boltsin the links 0. The slide H being thus, by means of the links 0,connected with the levers G that join the wires F, it is necessary thatsaid slide should be ina position to rotate with the wind-wheel, and forthis purpose it is arranged as a rotary disk on a sliding sleeve, 8,which is fitted upon the shaft B. The sleeve 8 is, at the same time,prevented from revolving by having a pin, it, project from it through ahole in the front lug d of the plate 1). Therefore, if the windwheel isbeing turned around its axis by the wind the levers G, links 0, and diskH will ,7 in the rotation, but the sliding sleeve s not rotate. To thisslide 8, which is incapable of turning around the shaft B, is pivotedthe front end of what we have termed the jointed lever I, being thefront end of the front joint a of said lever. The rear end of the samejoint is pivoted at v to a projection, v of the rear joint w of saidlever I. This rear joint is at w pivoted in an upwardly-projectingstandard, y, of the plate I), said standards being properly braced tothe vane L and front lug d, as shown in Fig. 1. The front end of thejoint w of the lever I connects with a rod, J, that extends down to theworking room or near to the mechanism which is to be worked by thewindmill. The rear end of the section to of the jointed lever I, hasattached to it an adjustable weight, 2, said weight being of such heftthat it will tend to hold the slide 8 H in its most forward position onthe shaft B, and thereby the wings F in their most nearly verticalposition, and if it is desired to bring the wings at an angle to thesupporting-arms E, it is only necessary for the operator or engineer topull the rod J, and thereby to elevate the weighted end of the lover I,and draw back the front joint u of said lever, and with it the sleeve 8and the sliding ring or disk H.

By drawing back the slide H, the links 0 are caused to draw back, alsothe lower joints of the levers G, and to swing back the projecting-arm1), that are at a higher altitude than the pivots m of the respectivewings. The wings are, therefore, necessarily tilted to bring their upperends farther backward, and their lower ends farther forward, suchtilting motion serving to bring them into or beyond the positionindicated in Fig. 1, where the wings are shown partly swung back by apartial elevation of the weighted end of the lever I, although they can,by the same mechanism, be swung back almost to a horizontal position.

We claim as our invention- 1. The hub-disk D of a wind-wheel, combinedwith the hook-bolts g, projecting radial arms E, circular wire h, andjointed levers G, all arranged so that the hook-bolts will rig;

tially as herein shown and described.

the pivoted Wings jointed levers G G, and inks 0, and with the rotary oterminating in balls that AUGUST GRAF. WILHELM GRAF. Witnesses:

THEODORE YOUNG, CHARLES ALLEN.

are confined in sockets formed by the two compose the slide H, substan-

